The Change of Fate
by CathyX1
Summary: Asuna dies after SAO is cleared, leaving Kazuto by her bedside, staring at her still figure. Strangely, she is given another chance to repair his emotions, which allows him have a good night's sleep for once. The problem is, he wakes up and... What the hell, is this One Piece?
1. Chapter 1-the Change of Fate

**AN: Yes this is a One Piece/SAO crossover. The only one as far as I know. So thank you for giving me the chance and clicking on this story.**

**First chap is mainly of how people felt after Asuna's death and of course introducing the new personality of Kirito. Of course, he's still as cool as ever. This chapter may not flow very well since it switches between different people's POVS (though they are in third person). The next one will be mainly focussed on Kirito.**

**WARNING: Character death (I know, don't kill me) Names shall start with the last name coz it sounds better. Kirito shall be using Kazuto as his name since it's the real world.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own SAO or OP which is soooo sad! Y did you have to remind me of it?! This will be the first and last time I'm writing this disclaimer, yeah? It's too depressing…**

**Chapter 1-The Change of Fate**

It was painful, she thought. There was no air, and yet somehow she managed to keep her consciousness, though maybe it was better for her not to. Everything hurt. There was a constant tugging on her limbs, as if something was trying to rip them off. Her whole body felt heavy, like she was deep in the ocean, with tonnes of water pressing down on her. It took all her concentration to keep herself together and focus on resisting the powerful force. She _would_ have just let go if not for that one boy. And that was worth more than her life, so she had to. She couldn't give up… _wouldn't…_

_Kirito…_

The memory of his touch was the only thing that kept her struggling, struggling to hold her last breath when her body just wanted go limp and let whatever was happening to her happen. But no, that would not do. She had to feel his hands one last time before passing on. She didn't know when he had started to become her reason for living; for not draining her own life in the earlier stages of the Death Game, but he was, and she knew that she would never regret it.

_So, please, just let me hold on for a little bit longer…_

* * *

Kirigaya Kazuto stood in the elevator, quietly waiting for it to reach the top floor. It had taken some convincing to get past the two security guards at the front of the private hospital but he was finally admitted into the building. He couldn't really blame them. He _was_ wearing hospital pyjamas after all. But he didn't have time to change. No. Asuna was more important. A black-spectacled man had told him where she was, in exchange for information. It was then that the teen had found that she was still unconscious, trapped somewhere in the virtual world. The days that he was in the hospital were a nightmare. When he was finally allowed to leave earlier that morning, he had rushed to Tokorozawa despite his mother's and sister's protests. And there he was, excited, afraid, of meeting his lover again.

The trip was taking too long. He glanced at the screen on the side impatiently. Luckily, no one entered the lift as it ascended to the top floor.

He broke out into a run as soon as he exited the elevator towards the pale green door on the far end. Unclipping the pass he had been given from the pocket of his shirt, he hurriedly slid it into the slot by the door and walked through as soon as he was admitted. His eyes immediately drifted onto the unconscious figure of Asuna and his pace slowed. When he reached the bed, he leaned down and gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, hands careful and loving, afraid to hurt the girl beneath him. Then, he sat down and held her hand. She looked as beautiful as she always did, though painfully thin, her head enveloped by that much-hated helm of metal that kept them apart.

* * *

The surroundings suddenly became warmer and the pressure lifted a little. She smiled –It was the moment she'd been waiting for–and used the last bit of energy to push herself towards the warmth, feeling it envelope around her. It was calming and soothed her immobilised body. Her heart was beating very quickly, too quickly to be good for her, but she didn't care. He was all she could think of as she felt her consciousness slip away. The pain was barely noticed.

* * *

Kazuto's eyes widened when the girl that had laid there since he first arrived stirred and struggled to open her eyes. He got up abruptly and leaned in over her.

'Asu–'

'Wait, Kirito.' She squeezed his hand slightly to stop him. 'I don't have much time.'

He looked at her, confused. 'But–'

'I love you.' She whispered, cutting him off. 'I love you. I love you. I love you.' Tears streamed down her pale cheeks. She finally got to tell him that in her real body! Her voice increased in volume every time she spoke. 'I love you. I-I love y–'

She felt him press his lips gently against hers. 'Me too, I love you.' He breathed against her mouth, pulling away a bit to stare into her eyes. 'So much that I could die.'

'Don't say something like that.' She scolded. Kazuto smiled to see the usual Asuna back and leaned down to kiss her again.

She lifted her trembling hands up and wrapped it around his back, pulling him closer.

They stayed there for a long time, until Asuna felt that her time was up. She slowly moved her head upwards and kissed his forehead before hovering her mouth near his ear.

'Goodbye Kirito. And thank you.' She sounded happy and sad at the same time.

The boy was confused at his lover's words.

'What do–' He froze when the body beneath him suddenly went limp. He sat up as her hands thumped back onto the mattress. Asuna had her eyes closed and a smile on her face. For a second, he hoped that she had fallen asleep but even that hope was dashed when he saw her unmoving chest under the covers.

Then, the doctors rushed in and ushered him away.

* * *

Kazuto's eyes were unfocussed as he lay on his bed. There were dark circles under them, and it looked as if he had aged a few years in a week.

…_Brain fried…no hope…_ the doctor's words haunted him everywhere he went. He would be asleep, dreaming of Asuna, and then everything would turn black, and all he'd see, hear, was the constant reminders that she was dead. He hated the creator; hated Kayaba Akihiko for killing her. But if the game had never been made, he would have never met Asuna.

Maybe that was better though… Having her alive… yes, he would very much prefer that even if it would mean never knowing her.

'_Kirito.'_

His head snapped up, eyes searching the room. But there was nothing. She wasn't there. Even if he thought it would have been better for them to never have met, he couldn't imagine life without her. He covered his eyes with his arm. 'Asuna…' He mumbled, saying the name of the one he loved most in the world, and who had died to save him. 'Forgive me…'

* * *

Suguha, or, as she was known as in the world of Alf Heim Online, Lyfa, flew slowly through the virtual clouds. Usually she enjoyed flying, but today she was thinking; thinking about her 'brother' and crush, Kazuto. He was the reason she even started playing ALO, to try everything she could do to understand him. It hadn't worked after all. He'd never found out about her efforts or feelings, and Suguha wasn't going to tell him. _Couldn't_ tell him, more like. It would make their relationship ever more awkward. She didn't want to trouble him, especially as the cause of the problem was because of the one he loved. It was easy to guess. She'd heard him talk about _her_ before when he was still in hospital, but after the day he was released, he never mentioned that girl again, though she would occasionally hear him say her name a few times from outside his room.

Having his empty body walk around the house was painful, almost too painful for her to bear. She hated the girl that made her brother like this, caused him so much pain and suffering, and had just left the world. Was it even possible to _really _fall in love with someone while playing a game? A Death Game no less. She didn't understand. He hadn't even met this Asuna in real life, not that she knew of anyway. How could he be affected so much? But then he was. It was the undeniable truth.

Early in the morning, she would hear sounds coming from the dojo and she'd pad down the stairs and walk over there, to see her brother hitting a practice dummy with a shinai. The strokes were fast, abnormally fast, deadly even, seeming to aim for the most vulnerable places. She remembered him saying that _that _person was almost as fast as him, and had a hard time believing it after the display. The slashes were heavy enough to force the dummy back, and there was what she'd only be able to call a murderous intent around him. A pile of broken pieces of bamboo was stacked carelessly on the floor. It was almost frightening and it was clear that he was pushing his body way over its limits. There was no way he could use so much strength when he'd only started rehabilitation a few days ago.

And yet his movements were so graceful; unfamiliar, sure– she'd never seen those techniques and stances before– but perfect and flowing, like he'd practiced them for years, not days. Or maybe he _had_ practiced them for a long time. There was no telling what had happened in those two years he was trapped in the game, after all. That, she knew, was always going to be the barrier between her and him, and also the difference between her and Asuna. They'd probably experienced life and death situations together. How could she compare? She knew she'd only be a mere sibling to him. He loved Asuna too much to have room for her.

It was so obvious it hurt.

These were the only thoughts occupying her mind before she was forced to descend as her wings reached their limit.

* * *

His arms were burning but he barely noticed it and kept slashing at the worn dummy. When the strain got too unbearable, he just grabbed the shinai with his other hand and continued. Anything to keep his mind off her death. He'd found out not long after Kayaba's first ingame announcement that fighting was the most effective way of distraction, and would frequently slay monsters for hours on end, sometimes even _days_ if he felt particularly unstable. The side of the bamboo sword landed precisely where the neck of a lizard man would be and he followed up with a slash to the head and abdomen. He could almost hear the familiar shattering as the imaginary monster died. Before long, two more targets had been added and he was now swinging at them at such a speed that the clacks of bamboo on wood almost sounded at the same time as the previous. He continued, raining blow upon blow on the dummies. He did all he could to forget. And, to some extent, it worked; when he closed his eyes and swung his sword, he could feel the _thrill_ of battle again. All he could do…

What he never ever did though, was hold any two shinai at the same time. That would just relive the memories of the state he had been in on that cruelly fateful day.

* * *

The girl walked along the corridor, or what she thought was a corridor. There were no walls, only darkness and even the ground was black, though she definitely could feel something under her, now bare, feet. It was all very strange. But what was the strangest thing was that she was supposed to be dead. She distinctly remembered whispering goodbye in Kirito's ear and the sensation of being unable to take another breath. So why was she here? Where was this place? With those questions spinning around her head, she continued walking, figuring that it was better to move than to just sit there and wait for someone to come along and tell her where the hell she was. She doubted there was anybody around anyway. It just didn't seem like a place that people liked to go to, if the creepiness was anything to go by.

The endless darkness made it hard to see but she was certain that a door wasn't going to appear anytime soon and so resigned herself to a long walk in unfamiliar territory. It ironically reminded her of the instant before the first boss, Ilfang had appeared, before the room was lit. She half-expected flames to appear and illuminate the space, but her logical side doubted it would happen. She could see herself though, so it would seem that her body was somehow glowing. There were no shadows despite there obviously being light, which gave the place the eerie feel of an empty void that contained nothing. She had already experienced it before, and was not in a hurry to experience it again. Luckily, she at least had air, and was in no pain except, of course, the ever-present ache in her heart whenever she thought of _him_. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and continued to walk. For now, that was the only thing she could do and her brain was too tired to think proficiently, anyway. As her light footfalls touched the non-existing ground, she was only glad that Kirito was alive.

* * *

The clock read eight o'clock. Kazuto pushed his bangs back to wipe the sweat off his face before moving the equipment into the storage room at the side of the dojo and sliding the shinai back with the others. It was only when he turned around to walk back when he saw the pile of broken bamboo that had steadily grown throughout the three hours he'd been 'training.' From a quick sweep, he could tell that there were at least what used to be ten complete practice swords in there and wondered how one earth he'd managed to break so many. He stared at the pile, willing it to move itself. Of course, it didn't, and eventually he sighed before bending down and gathering half of it in his arms and walked out to dispose of them.

* * *

Suguha opened her eyes and lifted the Amusphere from her head. She lay there for a while, looking at the ceiling. Once she'd landed on the ground, she'd immediately checked into an inn and logged out. She didn't feel like playing anymore, now that her objective had become so pointless.

It was Sunday and there was no school but she wasn't able to fall back asleep so after lying there for a few minutes, she got up and walked out of her room into the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror. Her face looked too much like her 'brother'. If they were walking on the streets everyone would think they were siblings. She wished she looked different.

She looked at her hair. Why was it so short? Oh right. Because of kendo. Any longer and it would be annoying when she needed to put on the protective head gear. Now, she wished that she hadn't cut it. _Kendo…_ Then she realised that she hadn't practiced for a week already. Her captain was going to _kill_ her. Closing the bathroom door quietly behind her, she strode to her room to get her shinai. Although her hair could always grow, she could never quit kendo. Not because her grandfather told her to do it, but because she _liked_ it. She didn't have the resolution to stop playing.

_How cheap my love is_, she thought grimly as she went back to her room to get her shinai and walked down to the backyard to practice.

* * *

Asuna stared at the… _thing_ in front of her. She didn't know what to think. _It_ was sitting on a throne with sunglasses on. The weirdest part of all was that it was a giant _fruit_.

It took her a full minute to fully comprehend what she was seeing and even then, she still suspected that it was all a very real hallucination. How often would a person get to see a fruit sitting on _any _chair wearing sunnies? She was even more convinced that her thought was correct when the fruit moved and a hand that had definitely not been there before pushed up its glasses. All was silent. She stood there for an extra moment or two before doing what most people would do when met with an extremely strange situation: she turned around and walked the other way.

'Hey! Where are you going?' A squeaky voice shouted from behind her. That only made her walk faster. Not only was she seeing things, she was _hearing_ things too. 'W-wait!' The squeaky voice called again, accompanied by heavy footsteps. _Oh god._ It was not long before Asuna was sprinting back where she'd come from, not caring that she couldn't even see where she was going.

'H-hey! Why are…you… running away?' The thing huffed. She was glad that it was such a fat fruit, since it meant that it ran slowly.

What was it anyway? Even if it was just part of her imagination, it looked a little _too_ weird–purple with strange spikes all over it and a swirly pattern. The sunglasses looked to be glued in place since there was nothing to hold it up. What a weird illusion…

Then it occurred to her that if it _was_ indeed an illusion, then she didn't need to run away. Nodding to herself, she stopped abruptly. _Despite _her belief that she was hallucination, it didn't stop her from stepping out of the way when the weird fruit came tumbling towards her into a… wall? Where had that come from?

Asuna watched in fascination. The pieces of wall were lying on the body even though it wasn't real.

'Argh…' It groaned, rising up from the rubble, somehow unharmed. 'What did you run away for?' It said angrily while rubbing a lump on its head.

Asuna just looked at it. There was no need to reply to illusions, right?

'Hey! I'm talking to– Oh forget it.' The giant fruit said as it righted itself and brushed itself off with the 'appearing hands'. 'Humans. As deaf as a bat. Wait a minute. That's not right. It was as _blind_ as a bat. But then what was… as deaf as a… anyway… Can't believe humans have such bad hearing even though… and all the crazy things they think up… brrrr…' It shivered and its expression went from disgust to sadness. 'You poor, poor thing.' Then it started weeping with her standing there gawking at it. 'Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. You victim of the humans!' Then its mood did a one eighty again. 'It's dark isn't it?' Well that was random.

'Yes.' She decided that it wouldn't hurt to talk to it. She was pretty curious about this weird creature as well.

'So you _can_ hear me!' The fruit exclaimed before starting to mutter about something about 'not respecting elders' and 'too old for this'. It stopped just as abruptly as it had started and flashed its teeth. Asuna decided that she never wanted to see a grinning fruit ever again. Its mouth stunk of rotten eggs. 'Anyway…' It said. 'If you thought it was dark then why didn't you turn on the lights?'

'… … …'

'Huh?' Asuna said dumbly.

'You know. Switches? You flick it and it turns the electricity on which then opened the light?' It said, creepily gesturing with its hands. 'Geez… Humans these days are so dense. It trailed towards the side and pressed something. Less than a second later, the corridor lighted up. She stared at the switch only four metres way from her. It had been there all this time?

'Ah… Much better.' The fruit mumbled to itself. 'Really dense, humans. Don't know what to do about them. I can't believe one ate my brother.'

Did that thing just say it had a brother and someone actually _ate_ it? She felt sorry for whoever had been unlucky enough to do that. It probably tasted pretty horrible.

'Anyway… down to business.' Her attention snapped back to the purple fruit only to see it sit down and lean against the wall before suddenly going limp. She watched in horror as a ghost drifted up from its body. Only it wasn't because it was scary, but because it was an even _uglier_ version of the thing. Her thoughts were cut off, however, when she felt herself get lifted up into the air and carried back to the throne room. She was dumped quite unceremoniously on the ground.

'Ow… What the hell…' She groaned, rubbing her sore backside.

'Well then.' The voice was deeper than before and she looked up to see the fruit ghost transform into a handsome (and not fat) young man, though he still had sunglasses on. 'Since we are all comfortable. I shall introduce myself. My name is Yomi Yomi no Mi. You may call me Mr Yomi, Yuuki Asuna-san.'

* * *

The dark-haired girl glanced worriedly at the clock. Dinner would be finished soon, and if Kazuto didn't come down, she would have to go get him, which she was reluctant to do. She decided to try calling him from downstairs. That might be less awkward.

'Kazuto-kun!' She yelled as softly as she could. Deep inside, she knew that he wouldn't hear. Sure enough, there was no response, but still she waited, stalling the inevitable. Froth was overflowing from the pan so she hurried to turn the gas off and tasted the soup. There was no flavour. She added a quarter teaspoon of salt. Still no taste. Another scoop. _Strange. Why couldn't she taste anything? _She decided to put in one last bit before checking the other pots. They were all done too. As the bubbling liquid calmed, the kitchen was shrouded in silence. She heard her mother tell her to go get her brother. She wanted to… but then she didn't. She didn't want to hear the voice that longed for a girl she hadn't even met before, but, she knew, she would have to talk to him eventually, so she may as well do it now. He _needed_ people. Even if the person that was going to save him was not to be her, she should at least try, right?

Taking a deep breath, she stepped slowly up the stairs.

* * *

There was a tentative knock on the door. He heard Suguha's voice vaguely. To him, it sounded like a ghostly whisper.

'Yes?' His voice sounded tired…not his own.

Suguha spoke so softly that her words were barely audible. 'E-eto… dinner…'

Kazuto nodded and then, realising that she couldn't see him, said in the most cheerful voice he could muster. 'Ok.'

His heard his sister hesitate.

'A-are you Ok?' He was surprised by the question.

_No. I'm not Ok._

'Yeah. I'm fine.' He said instead. It didn't sound the least bit convincing and was pretty sure it was really obvious he was lying. He was relieved when his sister mumbled a quick 'Ok' without questioning him. Kazuto waited for the few seconds it took for the sounds of footsteps to fade away before slowly levering himself up with his arms and swinging his legs over the side. He stayed there for a while, just sitting on the mattress, elbows on his knees and head bent down. His gaze constantly drifted onto the glass cup by his bed. If he smashed it, the pieces would definitely be sharp enough to pierce his flesh. With some luck, he could go to where Asuna was. It seemed like a good idea. The only thing stopping him from proceeding with it was that he didn't believe in god all that much–the bastard Akihiko made sure of that–and so doubted that something like the underworld existed, much less the possibility of seeing her again. Maybe it was just an excuse for escaping the throbbing of his heart. It sometimes ached to the degree of being unbearable. When that happened, he could only curl up in a ball in the centre of his bed, knees digging into his chest and nails penetrating the skin on the back of his hands, hoping for it to go away soon. He'd never known that losing someone he loved could cause physical pain. Unfortunately, he tended to learn things the hard way.

It was a while before he moved, struggling against his desire, and an even longer time before he managed to completely turn away.

More than an hour had passed until he finally opened the door and went down to eat.

* * *

The woman looked up as her son came downstairs. It was a family custom for everyone to be at the table before commencing meals if they were all at home, and she and Suguha had sat there waiting for him for the last seventy minutes. She wasn't angered by Kazuto's late appearance, just sad. He was unnaturally pale, even more than when he'd first woken up, if that was possible. There were bags under his eyes that hadn't been there before. His hair hung in clumps and fell back just under his collar bone. He'd cut it himself in his room and she thought the best idea was to leave him alone for a while, as he got used to things, before suggesting a trip to the hairdressers. She could tell that the clothes had been thrown on as carelessly as he did the rest; a baggy white shirt and an old pair of jeans that hung loosely from his hips. As he ran a hand through his hair to keep his bangs away from his eyes, he looked much older than the sixteen he really was, which definitely wasn't good– The boy had always been mature for his age, but looked even more so ever since he woke up, Kirigaya Midori thought to herself, concern etched onto her face. Kazuto seemed to notice this and forced a small smile.

''Kaa-san. Suguha.' He greeted, nodding his head.

'Onii-san…' She heard her daughter murmur softly.

'Kazuto…' She said no more as he pulled back his chair and sat down tiredly.

'Itadakimasu…' He said softly before picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat. His hands were trembling but somehow the food made it into his mouth.

Midori watched all this through her lashes as she pretended to look at her bowl. His emotionless face frightened her. Kazuto had always been quiet, especially after he found out about her being his aunt, but never like this. She viewed him as her son anyway, whether he thought the same or not. However, she was not doing a very good job, so she could hardly complain if he didn't agree. She didn't even know _why_ he was so depressed. It'd started on the day of his release from hospital. he'd rushed out and came back late at night with a blank look. Something _definitely_ happened, but she had no idea what it was. Suguha clearly knew something but when she'd brought up the subject, the look on her daughters face had stopped her from asking further. Come to think of it, she didn't even know what _that_ look was. _Sadness? Hurt? _If that was it then why was she like that?

She really was a terrible mother.

'Itadakimasu…' She eventually said, not knowing what else to do.

* * *

Asuna blinked up at the man. He was still transparent, like a ghost, but at least he wasn't as bad as what he'd looked like before, but she needed some explanations, and it didn't really matter who she was getting them from.

'How do you know my name?' Asuna demanded.

The other looked surprised. 'Why, I know all of the dead's names.'

_What?_

'So I'm dead.' She stated, trying to decide whether to believe him or not.

'Yes, you are.' He said. 'Don't you remember dying?'

She didn't need to think much to answer that question. Of course she remembered. 'I do. It's just that I'm wondering why I can still talk and breath and–

'But you can't breathe.' Yomi said, raising as eyebrow.

'But that's not pos–' Asuna started to disagree but then stopped. A fruit turning into a ghost and then into a man was not possible either. She should wait for the man to explain everything before asking questions.

'You just _feel_ like your breathing.' Yomi continued. 'The dead don't need to breath 'cause, well, they're dead. Actually, usually humans don't even get to pass through here and go straight to wherever people go when they die.'

'Huh? Don't you know where people go?' Asuna couldn't stop herself from asking.

'No. I'm only in charge of 'cleaning up' after the higher-ups.' The man sulked. He obviously didn't like being inferior to anyone. 'But I haven't needed to do that for a long time. Until you came.'

'So… what needs cleaning up?'

He sounded irritated this time. 'The situation you created. Derrr…'

'I didn't do anything!' Asuna said, exasperated. 'The only situation I created is me being dead.'

'That's exactly the problem.'

'Huh? You think I want to be dead?' She almost shouted.

'Well it's like you do…' The man gabbled lowly, but it didn't escape her ears.

'What do you mean?' She asked harshly.

'Well…' He fiddled with his tie. 'You weren't actually supposed to die when you did…' He mumbled.

'What?!'

'No, no, no! What I mean is you died _late_.'

'Huh?' He wasn't making any sense. Sure she understood if she _wasn't_ supposed to have died at all, but what did _late_ mean?

'You were supposed to have died a week earlier.'

* * *

It was one of those days when she forgot everything.

After quickly washing her face in the bathroom and walking down the stairs, she realised that the tap was still on, and hurriedly backtracked to turn it off. It was after she had made it to the back door when she realised she'd forgotten her shinai. She could always use the dojo ones, of course, but she was used to her own one and it felt more comfortable to wield. Once the bamboo sword was strapped onto her back, she then thought it wise to mentally check if she had missed or forgotten anything. She couldn't think of any so walked down to the dojo. She assumed it was empty as there were no sounds coming from the room. She wasn't ready to face her brother yet. Silently praying, Suguha reached out to open the door, only it opened by itself, and she was confronted with the person she didn't want to see.

'Suguha…' He said emotionlessly.

'O-ohayo, onii-san!' She greeted, even bowing her head a little. She froze when she felt a familiar hand ruffle her hair.

'Good luck for the match next month.' This time he managed to squeeze out a small smile while looking into her eyes. 'I hope you do well.'

'H-hai!' She said, shaking herself. He smiled again with a somewhat unreadable expression on his face and walked back into the house, leaving a very confused and happy Suguha behind him.

Little did she know that she was probably never going to see him again.

* * *

**AN: Ok I've got a few scenarios for you. Please review or PM me your choices.**

**1. Asuna is dead and Kirito gradually falls in love with someone else (I don't really like this one)**

**2. Asuna is dead and Kirito never falls in love again, though his 'wounds' eventually heal. ( I would prefer this one. I don't want there to be much romance in the story).**

**3a. Asuna is dead but then gets reincarnated into One Piece and meets Kirito as an OC.**

**3b. Asuna is dead and gets reincarnated as Asuna (She can either remember him or not remember.)**

**And the next question is if Kirito should eat a devils fruit or not. I'm open to suggestions on what kind of fruit as well.**

**BTW School's on so I won't be able to update as often as I'd like, though I **_**will**_** reply to reviews and PMs. While you're at it, you can check out my other story. It's also an SAO fanfic – 'Beast Tamer Online-the Black Beasts'. **

**Thx for reading and PLEASE leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2-Confusion

**AN: So it seems that everyone likes 3b… But I'm still accepting votes (via PM or reviews) since Asuna won't actually appear for a while. I'm surprised no one chose option 2. Like I said, I don't really want **_**too**_** much romance in this story.**

**BTW I am **_**not**_** replacing Zoro with Kirito, so to the people who were concerned, do not fear. He is my favourite OP character, while Kirito is my favourite SAO character. They are both swordsman so perhaps a rivalry? Kirito will most likely not eat a devil fruit though I have a surprise. Not in this chapter though, so feel free to guess.**

**WARNING: Spoilers (Only of locations) ! This part is set before Luffy leaves his village to become a pirate ;) And OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 2- Confusion**

Asuna stared at the strange man, uncomprehending. She wanted to know what he meant, but her mouth refused to open and all she managed was a faint croak. Luckily, he kept on talking.

'Basically those useless Grim Reapers managed to let you slip and you survived for an extra week.' He stated bluntly, shoulders shaking a bit as if from silent laughter, 'Ha! I was sure those things were too stupid to do their job right! Maybe _now_ the Boss will _finally_ realise that I'm much better after I resolve this–' He stopped when he realised he was talking to himself and was being judged. 'Ahem… yeah.'

'Er… Why am I here again?' She asked uncertainly. None of this made any sense to her.

'Hm…' Mr Yomi rubbed his hands together eagerly. 'That's right, I haven't explained yet, have I?' he didn't wait for a reply. 'So… long story short, you didn't die when you were supposed to so now we owe you a debt.'

_Silence._

'A-a debt?' Why would they owe her a debt when she got to live longer?

He seemed to read her mind. 'I know, weird right? But I don't really have any say in this stuff even though I was forced to memorise the whole rulebook. You'd think they wanted be to be king or something with all the things they told me to remember.' He continued to talk confusingly before finally getting to the point. 'What's this one again? Oh right! Rule #312: Any living being not reaped within five minutes of their fixed death date shall have the right to make a wish in the next seventy-two hours.'

Asuna was silent for a second. 'S-so, I can make _any_ wish?'

'W-wait! I know what you're thinking. The answer is no. You cannot be revived. Rule #269 states–'

'Don't worry.' She interrupted softly. 'I know I can't.' She smiled a sad smile. The smile sent a chill up his spine.

W-well. Good.' He recovered quickly. 'A week has already passed back where you are, but it has only been about twenty hours here so you still have time. Think carefully on your wish.' He paused, as if thinking something through. 'And be careful what you wish for. Some things may happen differently to what you'd imagine.'

If she was surprised by the suddenly serious tone, she didn't show it. Instead, the girl sat down on a wooden chair that had just appeared out of nowhere, and leaned back slightly, looking up at the black void above. The darkness made it easier to picture Kirito; his hair, his eyes and the way he smiled. All of it was painfully clear and only further reminded her that she _wasn't_ going to see him again. Eyes empty, she wondered if he was thinking much the same thing; if his heart ached as much as hers. It probably did, she knew, and that wasn't good. Hurting for a dead person wasn't going to help. It would've been better if she'd never existed. Then he wouldn't be in pain anymore.

If only she never existed.

'Well then… I'll give you some time to think. I'll be back in a few hours.' The man said, sounding slightly uncomfortable, before clicking his fingers and ghosting away again.

Asuna stared at the spot where he had been.

He'd forgotten his body again…

**~A Going-back-to-get-a-body later~**

The man was cloaked in darkness. Yomi (who had gone back to get his body) looked down at him disapprovingly. The newly dead hadn't spoken since his arrival, which was getting _increasingly _irritating. The fruit cleared his throat to draw the other's attention, growling when he didn't even bat an eye.

'A-hem.' He coughed again. 'Do you know why you are here?' As expected, there was no answer, so he continued.

'Well, basically, you are dead, though you were supposed to have survived and went back to your family. Or should I saw _adopted_ family' He said with a bored tone. 'Seriously why do I have to deal with these weird creatures (said the even weirder creature). ONE is already enough. Two is just…' His voice trailed off when he realised that the obstinate human was not listening. 'Hmph. Fine then.' He huffed. 'Then I won't tell you about the wish and stuff. You can just go and rot–'

'What wish?' Yomi jumped when the man spoke. His voice was cold, but there was definitely hint of interest in it. Humans _always _tuned in whenever he mentioned that, but he was too relieved to complain. He _finally_ had his attention, which basically meant he could go back to sleep sooner. Words flowed eagerly out of the fruit-turned-man's mouth. He didn't notice the corner of the human's lips twitch and tilt upwards.

* * *

Asuna turned her head towards the ghostly form of Mr Yomi as he floated back onto the throne. The 'man' crossed his legs and tapped the armrest absently with his fingers, staring into space. Silence wrapped around the area like a blanket, which seemed to make the temperature drop a little. They were still for the next few minutes, until his impatience got the better of him. His voice came out louder than he'd expected, causing him to restart and begin at a softer volume.

'So… Have you decided?' He asked. He heard the other half of his body ask the same thing to the strange human in the other space.

'Yes.' The man said.

'Yes.' The girl whispered.

'Ok, then. What is it? As long as it is within my power, I will (don't have a choice but to) do it.'

They spoke their next words at exactly the same time.

'I wish for him to never be able to live in the world again.'

'I wish he lives happily...'

Of course he knew who they were talking about.

_Those bloody, slave-driving humans._

* * *

Before he even opened his eyes, he knew something was wrong. And it wasn't the fact that he'd actually managed to fall asleep. His usually flat mattress was now rounded and cold. There was no blanket over his body. The temperature wasn't right. Moreover, everything was wet. He tried to move his arm, feeling a slimy substance suck it down. Yup, there was definitely something wrong. Sliding his legs under him and wincing slightly at the popping sound of his head dislodging from the sludge, he used a now-free hand to wipe away the bit covering his left eye and blinked at his surroundings. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

So this is hell huh? (No, it isn't, my dear Kazuto).

He was sitting on what looked like a large bubble. What he had originally thought was sludge, was actually a thick foamy liquid that came with the replacement bed. Which brought to him three questions:

One: The 'is this hell?'.

Two: If not, where on earth was this place?

Three: Why didn't the bubble pop? It's unscientific.

He had a lot more, but those were the ones that came to him first.

After another quick look around, he noticed that there were bubbles _everywhere_, and ridiculously tall trees. His eyes followed the base of the trunk down towards the island below. _Wait a minute…_

He was still on the bubble. Which was floating upwards._ Oh shit._ He cursed under his breath, hurriedly leaping down. Unfortunately, in his haste, he'd forgotten to look for something to land on. It was good that there were so many soft landings around, or he would have landed with a _SPLAT_ of meat sauce at the bottom. But seriously, this couldn't be real right? There was no way he could've woken up in the middle of bubble land after falling asleep in his bed. It was impossible. Even Full Dive required him to say 'Link Start' to activate it. Could he have muttered in his sleep after putting the NerveGear on? But he'd never been one to sleep talk and as far as he knew, he didn't own any other VRRPG game other than … you know. So what the hell was this? A dream? But if it was, it was a damn good one. It shouldn't be possible for something like a dream to be so real. It was then when he realised that he had been ascending the whole time and was now a good fifty metres above the ground. He once again launched himself into thin air and dropped down to a bubble nearer to the roots, which he now saw, was the islands themselves. It seemed to never occur to him that leaping down to what could potentially be death was not what a normal person would do (Not that freezing on the spot and screaming was any better). The soapy ball became a more jelly-beanish shape under the sudden weight, but still held, much to his relief. Using the same method, he carefully hopped down to the floor. It was only when he had to move out of the way of yet _another_ bubble emerging _from the ground_ that he became convinced that he was either hallucinating or going completely crazy. He preferred the former, though not by far, since it meant he was already progressing towards the second one. But then, if he _did_ go completely out of his head, he wouldn't be able to think straight, which would be both good and bad. Good was that it meant he was probably imagining the whole thing so he wasn't in any actual danger, and bad because then he'd probably do something really, really stupid and get to the danger anyway.

Which brought him to one very intelligent conclusion:

Both were pretty bad.

Yeah, there was definitely something wrong with him…

* * *

Suguha woke up feeling strangely empty, as if something was missing. She lay in bed and stretched, hoping to wring the sleepiness out of her body before slowly sitting up and glancing at the clock.

Her movements became noticeably faster then. The second hand ticked mockingly at her.

'I swear I set the alarm.' The girl muttered to herself as she ran a hand through her hair in attempt to untangle the messy nest. She gave up soon afterwards, and appeared in front of the mirror a second later with a brush in one hand and her uniform in another. In thirty seconds, she had accomplished the impossible task of changing into a shirt, skirt _and _socks while combing her hair. Properly.

'Okaa-san!' She shouted, taking one last fleeting look at her reflection before rushing downstairs. 'I'm leav–'

Suguha skidded to a stop by the kitchen, staring at the empty bench-top. There was _always_ toast there, ready for her when she came down. She hurriedly opened the cupboard. There was nothing in there either. 'Is there no bread left?' That's strange. Her mum usually stocked up on that stuff on the weekend.

'Didn't you go buy it yesterday?' Was the tired reply.

'Didn't you go? Remember, I asked but you said you'll do it.'

'What are you talking about?' Her mum said in a tone that practically had 'No Nonsense' written on it in bold letters. 'Argh, whatever, I'll go get some later.'

'… K. Bye, Kaa-san!' She'd just have to make do without breakfast. She glanced at the clock again. Kendo training was going to start in less than ten minutes. _Argh, Captain is going to _kill _me! _She thought, grabbing her bag and shinai and running out of the house.

She was five minutes late and got ten punishment laps around the dojo and the oval. Being out of breath already, she mostly staggered the last few circuits. It had rained the night before too, which made the task all the more challenging. The thick mud sucked down the soles of her shoes whenever she took the next step. There was only half the session left by the time she finished. Running for three-quarters of an hour didn't exactly help with her physical state. There was also that growing sense of emptiness bugging her constantly. She'd been called up for a match with a senpai, and, despite her definitely having more skill, had made a mistake and lost badly. Not amusing when kendo was the only hobby she was actually serious about. All in all, she was in a bit of a gloomy mood when training ended.

'Suguha-chan? Are you alright?' her friend, Kaori, asked, sounding quite worried.

'Yeah… I'm fine.' She tried to put on a reassuring smile but failed miserably.

'You know that wasn't convincing at all?' Yumi said in her usual cheerful voice, the complete opposite of what Suguha was feeling at the moment.

'What, what?' _Huh, Youko as well?_ 'Did you have a fight with your nii-chan again?'

_What did she just say?_

'Nii-chan?' She repeated uncertainly.

'Yeah. It's Kazuto-kun, isn't it?' Yumi said, sounding a tad too excited. 'Awww, you're so cute~'

'The forbidden love between brother and sister.' Youko declared dramatically, with stars dancing around her. 'He wakes up from his deep slumber and they finally reunite…'

'Ah… I'm so jealous.'

'Don't you already have a boyfriend?'

'Hey…' Suguha tried to speak.

'I do. But Kazuto-kun is _way _cooler.'

'HEY!' She shouted, flushing deeply when all eyes turned to her. She gestured for her friends to follow her to the back of the building.

'Ok, so what is it?' Kaori questioned, leaning against the wire fence that surrounded the school.

'I don't have a brother.'

They all stared at her.

'I don't have a brother.' She stated again, louder this time.

'Whoa, Sugu-chan. Aren't you going a bit too far even for a fight. What did he do? I'll go speak to him.' Yumi said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulders.

She brushed it off and turned around so that she was facing all three of them. 'No. I _really_ don't have one. I don't even know this 'Kazuto'.'

The group was silent for a second, letting the words sink in.

'You're serious.' Youko finally decided after thoroughly examining the slightly-taller girl's face.

Suguha rolled her eyes at this. 'Of course I'm serious! Why did you think I had one, anyway?' She inquired incredulously.

They all eyed her warily. 'Because you introduced him to us.' They said in unison.

She facepalmed. 'I give up, I give up. You're too good for me.'

'What?'

She looked up from her hand. 'You guys planned this didn't you, this joke?'

They were staring at her weirdly again.

_**~Meanwhile, in one of the In-Between spaces~**_

'Wishes… check, Lollies… check, Paperwork… can't be stuffed, Pay check… Why haven't they paid me yet? Hm, let's see… For people… Kirigaya Kazuto, successfully transferred… memories… His aunt… Kirigaya Midori… Kirigaya Suguha… I did quite a good job, I think. School's headmaster… neighbour… Blah, blah, blah… Huh, what's this? Er… Takahashi Youko… Susuki Kaori… Oshiro Yumi…? Ah…' The fruit scratched the back of his head sheepishly. 'Forgot them… Better do it now…' He brought up each of their profiles and tapped their foreheads lightly, all the while muttering series of undecipherable words that sounded a lot like curses.

_**~Back with our hero's sister~**_

_A joke? What was she talking about?_ Kaori thought to herself. _She knows she has a brother –_

_Not. _

_Ah, maybe we were being a bit too cruel pranking her like this?_

'Just kidding!' She heard Yumi scream out gleefully, and was glad that she had said it first. It would have been awkward otherwise.

'You totally fell for it!' She joined in, laughing.

'Awwww… You are so mean!' Suguha squealed, lightly punching her on the shoulder.

Kaori feigned hurt, clutching her arm tightly and groaning in agony. 'Ahhhhhh! You broke my arm!'

'As if!'

'Hahahaha!'

* * *

It didn't take him long to find out the other peculiarities of this 'Bubbleland'. He hadn't noticed before since he'd been leaping downwards on soft landings, but after walking around for a while, he found that he was much lighter than before. He could now jump almost triple his usual limit, without even trying. Unfortunately, he had become aware of this only after leaping too far when a bubble appeared and crashing into a tree. Hard bark and his face didn't really like each other. Let's leave it at that.

The second difference was that he could see further. His vision was as good as it was in SAO. Better, even, since there wasn't the game feature that blurred out everything he wasn't focussing on. Strangely enough, he felt more at ease with this than with his sight in the real world.

He was sure he'd find out about the other changes soon enough, so decided to direct his attention to the place he had woken up in. It was even more impressive than the Virtual Reality he'd lived in for two years. Maybe his brain was a better FullDive machine than a NerveGear? He had all five senses with him, and could even feel the game-developed sixth sense lurking somewhere at the back of his mind. For a former game-addict like him, this was quite the ideal place to be in.

_If only she…_ He shook his head. No, he wasn't going to break down now. That could wait for later.

For now, he was going to make the best out of the situation.

* * *

Kirigaya Kazuto was a danger magnet.

It was either that, or this was a seriously stuffed up place. What else could explain his current predicament? His eyes darted around, taking in the seven extremely large men who looked like they wouldn't mind twisting a few people's neck off for fun. His shoulder stung from the bullet that had passed through it earlier, his shirt already soaked through with blood.

You are probably wondering how the hell he had managed to get into such a dangerous situation so quickly. Well here's what happened…

**~One hour earlier~**

After a while of walking, Kazuto saw smoke snaking up towards the sky – the tell-tale sign that civilisation was nearby. _Wow, good job, brain. You planned this really thoroughly_, he congratulated himself, though he wasn't actually sure if everything was his imagination or not.

Quickening his pace, he walked towards the grey wisps and soon found himself staring up at a huge arch, which he guessed marked the entrance of the town. Behind it, were crowds and crowds of people. Some were sitting in a bubble that had pedals so the rider could navigate it. Stalls lined the cobblestoned streets, displaying candies, flowers, 'Magic Matches', bubble balloon bags and everything else he could think of. Behind that were the buildings – some small and cute, while others were large and elegantly furnished. There were cafes, bars, shops selling antiques and decorations, buildings that didn't have a sign but people streamed out of, bookshops and many others. All of this, had one thing in common: Purpose. Everyone, everything, had a purpose. It was only after the few seconds he took to realise this that his eyes started picking out things in particular: A group of strange men with ridiculous amounts of piercings and carrying swords, daggers and various other weapons. Their clothes were strange too. One man had on a long, red coat even though it was clearly not the right choice in this kind of weather. Another was bare chested, exposing his skinful of tattoos. He wore only a pair of pants held up barely by an expensive-looking belt that was too big for him. All of them had an abnormal amount of muscles. What was more, the regular townspeople ignored them, although occasionally, one would steal a glance before scuttling off as quickly as they could. Stall-keepers tried to raise the price, sounding more enthusiastic than before, as a merchant would when met with a wealthy buyer. One of the strange men shouted something. The owner nodded after a brief consideration time. The man left with a fancy-looking scabbard strapped onto his already-drooping belt.

It appeared that his hearing had also become more enhanced, for he only had to walk a bit closer to hear their conversation.

'… When can we leave?'

'We should get the ship back from the coating mechanic tonight. We'll leave tomorrow morning.' The dagger carrying man said.

'Aw… But Clarque… I still want to play a bit longer~'

'Shut up Stevie. You can play when we get to Fishman Island.' The man who was apparently name 'Clarque' said, punching his companion on the shoulder lightly.

'Gyahahaha!' The one with the red coat laughed. 'Yeah. We don't want to get caught by the Marines now, do we?'

_Marines?_

'Chihihihihihi! No we don't. Chihihihihihi! Not before I get my hands on one of those mermaids down there.' The shortest man in the group said in a high-pitched voice, tongue lolling out of his mouth. He had a katana at his side.

_What the hell is he talking about? Mermaids?!_

'True~' Stevie said in a strange, male sing-song voice. The combination sounded a lot like a strangled squeal. 'Feel sorry for the poor soul who ends up with an ugly lump as – Yeow!'

He squealed for real this time, as he felt a blade press onto his throat. Several people near them screamed and ran away. Kazuto was shocked but managed not to flinch. 'It's so funny, isn't it? Huh, Stevie? Why aren't you laughing now.'

'Dri. Don't go overboard.' Red Coat growled, a warning note in his voice.

He didn't move.

'Driarch Gildo.' He repeated dangerously.

Said man narrowed his eyes and slowly sheathed the sword, though his arm remained over his victim's throat. 'Yes. _Captain Chuggs_.' He sounded out sarcastically.

'Driarch.'

'Yes, yes.' The man replied in a bored tone, putting his hands up and stepping back from the wall he'd pinned Steve to. 'Whatever you say, sir.'

The victim absently rubbed the place where the katana's edge had cut into his flesh. 'I was only joking around.' He muttered hoarsely, obviously not happy about the way he was treated but afraid to offend the other again.

'Well, me too.' Dri said back, grinning madly.

Clarque frowned. 'Don't get so loud! It'll be bad if the Marines find out we're here!'

_Marines, again. Was that a group who disliked them? Rival gang? No, otherwise they wouldn't be afraid. Perhaps something similar to the police? Was the group criminals? If so, they why was nobody reacting?_

Kazuto quietly walked to the stall on the men's right selling sea shell products. He did attract a few stares here and there because of the baggy shirt and pants he was wearing, but otherwise he blended in quite well. Pretending to examine the _'Ulti-male sun screen'_ that was, according to the label, _made purely out of crushed shells and sea water_, he concentrated on trying to make sense of what they had just said as well as listen in for any additional information. Right now, he knew their names and that they did not want to be caught. They had a ship that was going to come back from a 'coating mechanic', and were heading to Fishman Island. Oh, and they all look like macho man. That was all. He carefully placed the can he was holding back in its place. He had to satisfy his curiosity soon or the boy was going to explode. Trying to look as normal as possible, he sauntered towards the largest bookstore he could see. He might be able to get more information from there.

The door was open, so he walked in, nodding politely to the storekeeper at the back, and then ambled towards the section that was labelled as 'Non-fiction'. To his delight, there was an encyclopedia. That should have the information he needed. It was only after he opened the book that he realised he didn't know where he was. Deciding to just 'go with the flow', Kazuto sighed and looked up 'coating mechanic'. According to the article, they specialised in coating ships and other things with the resin the bubbles outside were made out of. Ok. So the men wanted to coat their ship with a layer of bubble. The question was 'Why'? He flipped to the letter 'F' and searched up 'Fishman Island'.

…_An Island situated beneath the Red Line 10 000 metres below sea level, inhabited by the merpeople and ruled by Neptune. Fishman Island is frequently travelled to by pirates who are heading towards the _New World_ even though it is ruled by one who is a main seat of power in the World Government. The Island is currently under the protection of Whitebeard and the Whitebeard pirates…_

He stared at the page intensely. Now, he was certain he wasn't imagining the whole thing. There was no way his brain could've made up those words perfectly. That only left the possibility that he was… No, it didn't really leave anything. So he's actually _physically_ here? What? He looked around the shop. It really _was_ too perfect to be mere images conjured by his mind. His gaze rested on a brochure on the counter: _Welcome to Sabaody!_ Was that the name of this place? He quickly checked it in the encyclopedia.

…_An area near the Red Line that splits the first part of the Grand Line from the New World. Although called an archipelago, it is made up completely of mangrove trees, in which each tree forms an island. It has no magnetic pull, and therefore does not affect a Log Pose. Sabaody is a popular tourist site as well as a rest stop for pirates. It is located in close proximity of the Marine Headquarters: Mariejois…_

The word 'pirates' was mentioned twice. They were clearly very 'important' here. This really was a peculiar place he had ended up at. Curious, he flipped open to the page with 'pirates'.

The first thing under the word was the standard definition. The next was 'the Pirate Era'.

…_the era that started only twenty years ago. Pirates dominate the seas, inspired by the Pirate King Gold Roger's last words that said he hid the ultimate treasure, One Piece, in…_

Wait. What? He read it again. _…the ultimate treasure, One Piece…_

The Fuck did it just say. One Piece? As in, the manga and anime, One Piece? Kazuto had never been a fan, but even he had heard of the name, even if it was only because he was bored and his classmates had been talking loudly. It had been two years ago, but he was _absolutely certain_ he was remembering correctly, though he sincerely wished he wasn't. It could be a coincidence though, right? It could just be called the same name! But One Piece was about pirates. And this world was involved with pirates… Ugh, damnit.

He snapped the book shut glumly. Sliding it back on the shelf, he took a brochure and exited the shop, disregarding the annoyed look the owner of the store was giving him.

To his frustration, the bloody piece of glossy paper did not have a map, which was the main reason why he wanted it in the first place, but did include information on the different areas in Sabaody. From what it said, Groves one to twenty-nine were lawless areas so he just needed to avoid there. He wished he had paid more attention to his class' conversations.

Concentrating on the brochure, it took him a while to notice that his surroundings had become extremely quiet. His head jerked up at a man's cry of pain. He'd heard it too many times before to not know it. His wide eyes settled on the scene before him. Kazuto clenched his fist tightly.

All the townspeople were on their knees, bowing low. From his vantage point, he could just see the extremely fat man in the centre of the crowd. He had a wide, obese face and a strange bun-type hairstyle sitting on his head. A steady stream of snot was running from his nose, which he constantly his picked at through the bubble covering his head. What was more shocking was that he was sitting on another man, and whipping the slave repeatedly.

'Saint Charloss.' His henchman said in a sweet voice unbefitting a male. 'I do not believe he is worth your anger. This piece of scum has already caused you to be late for the auction. How about you leave him for me to take care of?'

'No!' Charloss whined childishly, stopping to catch his breath. 'Huff… huff… I must ride a human! Unless… huff… you get me a fishman!' With this, his resumed whipping and the victim's screams intensified.

'Well then, my lord. Why don't you pick someone from the audience?'

Kazuto heard everyone's breath catch in their throats. _Audience? They made it sound as if everyone was there willingly._

'Ah… That's a great idea!' The real piece of scum agreed gleefully. 'Let's see…' Kazuto saw his tiny beady eyes regard the townspeople thoughtfully. His hand started to rise, causing the people in that direction to quiver with dread. 'Him.'

He was pointing to the Red Coat Kazuto'd been eavesdropping on. A few sighed in relief.

'As you command. You–' But the pirate was gone along with the rest of his crew before the words even left his mouth. The henchman quickly reached for his Den den mushi and dialled Sabaody's Marine Base. 'Yes. Pirates on the loose on GR 44. Requesting Assistance. Yes, a Noble is here. Thank you.' He hung up. 'My lord, would you like to choose –'

'Noooooo! I want this one! I want it. I want it. I want it!' The Noble's tantrum being worse with every passing second. Eventually, he was so pissed that he produced his golden pistol and started shooting at the escaping 'criminals'. Once they were out of sight, he started randomly shooting at the shops in the way, injuring anyone unfortunate enough to fall victim to his terrible marksmenship.

_Stop…_

He turned back to the fallen man under him and pointed the pistol to the slave's head.

_Stop…_

'If it weren't for you…' His finger tightened on the trigger.

'STOP!' Kazuto burst out, closing in the distance between them and snatching the gun from the corrupted man's grip.

'How – How dare you!' The Noble managed to utter, trying to get his weapon back, but Kazuto was stronger and didn't budge an inch. 'You!' He made some sort of gesture with his hands, overbalancing and almost falling over.

Without any warning, a bullet hit the boy's left shoulder, causing him to drop the pistol and loosen his grip on Charloss' arm. The Noble took the opportunity to move away, this time toppling backwards and rolling down from his 'seat's' back. Kazuto gripped the wound tightly, grimacing in pain. Head immediately whipping around, he cursed himself for not being more careful. He briefly glimpsed the sniper before the man ducked back from the balcony of _'Mony's Motels'_. It was a Marine. He was interrupted from his musings of how the troops really shouldn't wear white and blue hats when surprise attacking since it would only give them away, by his instinct telling him to run. Sure enough, a second bullet tore through the air where he had been only a second before, hitting, instead, the injured slave, killing the man instantly. He didn't have time to look, though, as grazed his arm. With one glare at the Noble and his henchman, he spun around and ran for his life.

And that, as you can probably imagine, was what led to the tragic confrontation of this boy with the seven intimidating Marines.

* * *

Suguha lay on her bed, Amusphere over her head, and quietly said 'Link Start.' She was exhausted, and desperately needed to fly. All she wanted to do was forget everything that happened that day and concentrate on playing games. She would, too. Her mind would be void of such thoughts by the time she awoke again.

But, right at that moment, as she lost control over her senses, she couldn't help but wonder if this 'Kirigaya Kazuto' actually existed. Her friends' acting had been a bit _too_ convincing for everything to have been completely fake. That wasn't important though. It didn't really matter to her either way. All that mattered was her mum, kendo and the feeling of having wings back on her back.

* * *

**AN: here it is :) Hope you think it was worth the wait… But you know, just over 200 views in more than three weeks is kinda sad… It's really amazing that I got so many follows, favs and reviews though. I love you guys :)**

**BTW Feel free to point out any grammatical errors that I may have left out. I couldn't be bothered checking.**

**Thanks and Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3-Trapped

**AN: Sorry for the ridiculously long wait! Inspiration has been, and still is, escaping me and I couldn't write… The first few chapters are so broken up that it's hard to place the scenes where they fit best… **

**Seems every one doesn't want yaoi, and I'm not very keen… so that's done. For the options I put out, I'll probably be going with 2, but with those who still want to choose, it will be out of 2 and 3b. I will start using 'Kirito' in a few chapters, but am sticking to Kazuto for the moment. As for devil fruits, I have decided not to give him one, and probably/maybe (but then maybe not XP) give him another power (Don't worry it will still be One Piece ability hehe).**

**This chap may be slightly on the boring side, and is shorter, since I need to re-establish his character (and other characters) and what he's going to be like for the next few chapters, so be prepared to go "What the hell is the author doing…"Just warning you, or at least the ones who actually bother to read these bits… **

**Flashbacks are now shown in **_**Italics and Bold text **_**(I thought breaks were a little distracting), but long flashbacks may use breaks.**

**I also changed Asuna's wish into 'I wish he will be happy' instead, so if you get an extra alert, it's because of that.**

**WARNING: Big focus on OCs and… one swear word? = =**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Trapped**

The man drummed his fingers impatiently as the next item was brought up. He was seated in the front row inside the Human Auctioning House. The row especially reserved for World Nobles. 'Where is Charloss?' He wondered aloud, effectively summoning his henchman to his side.

'Charloss-sama was attacked while riding to the auction, My Lord.' The henchmen said, kneeling down so he didn't obscure his master's vision. The auction item was a merman. 'I believe the Marines are chasing the attacker right now. They may have already caught him.'

The Noble sighed. _This is why I told him not to mingle with commoners by riding that ridiculous mount…_ He stroked his moustache thoughtfully, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger, watching as the auctioneer shouted out the item's starting price. 'Has the Marine Headquarters been informed?'

'Yes, My Lord.' The servant replied, achieving the impossible by lowering his upper body further. 'Would you like me to verify?'

He inclined his head slightly in answer. 'And make sure he doesn't escape. I believe my niece is in need of a present.' He paused. 'I'm sure you know the procedures.'

'Yes, of course, Roswald-sama.'

The Noble's face, once again, became impassive as he directed his attention back to the stage, dismissing the other with a flick of his wrist. 'Five million berri.' He said, disregarding the numbered sign laying on the armrest. He listened with irritation as the amount was called out with an overly-enthusiastic voice. It was just formality of course; nobody actually dared to go against a World Noble. A few moments later, the sound of hammer on wood confirmed his thoughts.

* * *

Kazuto rubbed the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing the blood across his cheek. He was still backed against the wall, but the Marines had drifted out of the tightly knit ring, leaving only three men around him. Apparently, he wasn't worth their trouble. On the bright side, having a hard surface standing behind him would make sure he wasn't completely surrounded, even if it did cut off most of his chance to escape. Just great.

He was sure not _all_ Marines were like this (hopefully) and that he'd just accidentally stumbled upon the more violent and foul-mooded ones.

'Woy, woy… Did he really assault a Celestial Dragon?' One of the Marines asked, chuckling and eyeing him doubtfully. The laugh was far from humorous, however, and Kazuto decided – a tad gloomily – that he wanted to kick whatever or whoever was the source of the man's bad mood.

'If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it either.' Another replied, turning to face the young 'offender'. 'Hey, why don't you just surrender and make it easier for all of us?'

Kazuto didn't answer, and instead spat out the excess blood that had risen from his throat, hunching over as a series of coughs racked through him. The few punches that had connected had gotten him good, and aggravated the wound on his shoulder as well. He wouldn't be surprised if what had originally been a round puncture had become a severe tear. Seriously, he wasn't in the mood for this… And just when he thought he was going to relax a little.

_Though_, He speculated grimly, thinking back to the events leading up to then, _I guess I couldn't have relaxed anyway, huh? _A sigh escaped his lips.

'What was that, _brat?_' The first marine snarled, at the same time somehow managed a delighted smirk. Kazuto just stared back, which obviously only succeeded in pissing off the _bigger_ and _stronger_ group. Oops.

'What are you glaring at, huh?' The largest guy snarled, striding forward and forcing him onto the wall. He grabbed a handful of his shirt and lifted him upwards. 'We could easily kill you, you know?' The marine threatened menacingly, bringing his face forward. Kazuto could feel the foul breath on his chin, but didn't turn away. 'The only thing keeping you alive right now is the orders we were given.' His hold had loosened during this, but just as Kazuto tried to supply his lungs with some much needed oxygen, the man released his shirt and instead moved his hand to the boy's neck, drawing out a choked cough.

The Marine's expression suddenly became one of a predator who had just caught its prey. 'However… They never said anything else about the condition you were supposed to be in.'

His speech was interrupted by the Purupurupuru's of… was that a snail?

'Hai! This is Squad 11!' He heard his group member report into the mouthpiece. 'Hai! We've got him!' He fell silent as the other end relayed their message. 'Yes, sir! Got it, sir! Have a good day!'

'What was it?'

'Well… They just told us to stay put and wait for reinforcements to arrive…'

'…'

'Gahahaha! We hardly need any backup against this little rat.'The Marine turned back to his victim and tightened his grip. 'Well… I guess they just assumed that anyone who dared to go against a World Noble is dangerous. They certainly assumed wrong this time…' His right hand crawled up the boy's blood-soaked sleeve.

'Gah!' Kazuto cried out as the hand clamped down on his shoulder. The hold around the throat also tightened, making it even harder to breath, especially when his feet now dangling over the ground.

The supposed keeper of Justice then let go abruptly, and Kazuto crumpled to his feet. He looked pitiful with his long, unkempt hair and slightly oversized clothes. 'Why would you be so stupid as to bring this upon yourself, eh?' He bent down, drew his gun and used it to push aside the hair covering the boy eyes. 'And look at the situation you are in…' The others snickered as the Marine settled into a relaxed posture. The barrel never left Kazuto's head.

The boy sat up painfully and leaned his back against the wall, trying to catch his breath. He stared down the metal cylinder, imagining the bullet that could easily end his life. His eyebrows creased. He was confused.

_At a time like this, I usually get excited._

He continued to look, thinking of all the times he had been cornered like this.

Only this time, he felt no adrenaline; none of that thrill and yearning to do something, to fight. Was it because they weren't allowed to kill him? Kazuto closed his eyes. No, that wasn't it.

Everything was so silent, almost peaceful.

The electricity that had pumped through his veins was no longer there. Even his _guilt_ was not giving him energy. He just felt powerless.

Helpless.

He was _tired._

Was that the reason?

The Marines' voices sounded faintly in the background.

'Hahaha… Finally scared?'

'Weakling.'

'Useless.'

There was a pause.

'He should just die.'

Kazuto almost laughed at that.

'He should but he can't.' The one holding the gun snorted. He kicked the boy in the face, extracting a soft but audible groan, and sent him flying into the other wall. 'At least not yet.'

Kazuto collapsed onto the ground.

'Hey, boy, get up!'

He stayed where he was. Getting up was too bothersome.

Another hard leather boot drove into his side, lifting him up into the air. Then there was a third one, a fourth, a fifth… Soon, he couldn't even distinguish the pain anymore, to the extent that he almost didn't feel anything, just a numbing sensation, like he was, once again, away from Reality. But, then again, this was nothing. The previous weeks had been much _much _worse.

'Well, aren't you a good boy?' One of them said. 'Not resisting huh? Fine then.' The beating stopped, and he felt someone grab onto his hair and yank him upright. 'Let's see if you last until they arrive, shall we?' The Marines snickered.

Kazuto felt their vision scrape over him.

'Hm… now that that hair is out of the way… this face is actually really girly…' The Marine mused, grabbing the boy's chin so he could get a better look.

'_**Hey, Kirito-kun, you know, a lot of people say you're 'pretty'?'**_

Why was he thinking of that now? And it had been relived by words spoken by _strangers? _He chuckled humourlessly, the noise coming out choked, stuck in his throat.

'_**Mm… You jealous?'**_

Ah… Asuna's face had reddened. He remembered thinking that it was cute.

The fingers on his cheeks pressed down even harder and his face was torn to the side abruptly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

_She would've been disappointed._

A brief moment of pain flashed across Kazuto's features. It didn't go unnoticed.

'Ooooooh… Pretty boy here is scared?' The Marine taunted. 'Hey look guys! He's scared! How adorable!'

Kazuto's head, once again, was twisted around painfully so the others could see. He was only half-conscious now. He heard voices. Angry voices; coming from quite a distance away.

_I must be dreaming… Or going insane… _His eyelids drooped a little further.

'MOVE!'

The Marines' heads jerked up just in time to see someone jump over the wall from the other side. Kazuto was faintly aware of a strangled cry and a thump as one of the Marines suddenly disappeared from his view. His world tipped. It took him a while to realise that nothing was restraining him anymore. _What's happening? _He tried to lift his head, but failed. When had it become so heavy…? Sighing, he closed his eyes and focussed on trying to hear what was going on.

A shocked voice broke through the initial shocked silence. 'I–It's 'The Two-Faced Hunter' Driarch Gildo of the Blood Pirates! He has a seventy million berri bounty! What's he doing here?!'

_A pirate? Was he one of the people with Red Coat earlier?_

'If he's here, then his captain must be close!' A Marine shouted. 'Capture him!'

Kazuto heard a large tangle of footsteps. The Marines must have started to attack. The pirate was…

_Strange… where's the pir – _He felt a pair of hands grab him and hold him up. Something cold pressed against his neck, drawing blood. A high-pitched laugh sounded by his ear.

'Chihihihi! Don't move!'

'L –let go of him!' The Marines shouted, and the pirate found seven guns pointed at him.

'I refuse.' Dri deadpanned, holding Kazuto in front of him like some sort of meat shield.

Meanwhile, somewhere on Shells Island, a certain blonde haired boy shivered.

'LET GO!' The officer yelled again, though his voice betrayed the fear he felt. The order had been clear. The offender was to be brought back _alive_, as was expected for someone who had assaulted a Tenryubito. Failing to do so could, no, _would_ result in death.

'You think I'm stupid?' The Hunter said, sounding slightly annoyed. 'Now, if you will, I'm going to go now.' Shouts could be heard from the other side of the wall. 'Bye!' And he retreated as fast as he could while still shielding himself from potentially fatal bullets. The Marines shouted angrily, but none of them moved more than a few steps. They couldn't afford the risk. They'd have to wait for the back-ups to arrive.

* * *

Asuna stared at Yomi, who was currently tracing an invisible '8' in the air. The man (slash fruit slash spirit) had been doing that for a while now, after returning from what she assumed to be some sort of errand.

Finally, the 'thing' turned around with an exasperated sigh. 'You're giving me the creeps…' He informed her, shuddering. 'What d'you want?'

She regarded him for a moment before looking down and hugging her knees to her chest. '…I was wondering… what I was supposed to do…now…'

Yomi stopped in his tracks. 'O-oh, is that so?' He released a forced chuckle. 'Haha, of course! There's no way that I had completely forgotten about you and was considering how long it would be until I received that message from the higher-ups so I can go back to sleep…' He trailed off, cursing his bad habit. He glanced at the girl cautiously. Thankfully, she looked too distracted to notice. He cleared his throat, giving him time to gather his thoughts. There was a particularly delicate matter that he had to discuss. 'It has been about 70 hours since you have officially died.' Yomi began, this time more seriously. 'Rule #69 states that you must 'pass on' within the next twelve hours after the first three-day period, and you will then be sent to the real Underworld or whatever that place is and finally out of my hands, but until then, you are my full responsibility. If I don't handle you well, I get sacked and neither you, me, or anyone else will be happy, get it? It is also my duty to make sure I inform you of everything that you need to know, even if it _is_ unhappy…' He paused dramatically. 'Actually, are you sure you want to know?'

Asuna nodded. Her teeth felt a little sharper than usual. She suddenly had the urge to yell at someone.

'Ok, well, you _see_, regarding that wish earlier…Coincidentally, there was another party in some other place in a similar predicament to you and, although I am forbidden to tell you the details, an unfortunate _clash_ occurred and your request was voted against by the good-for-nothing old faggots who have nothing better to do. Bet they just needed some entertainment – '

She tuned him out then. Asuna was not stupid. Something bad had obviously happened. She wanted _him… _Kirito to be happy, so if the other wish clashed so much with hers, if was definitely something that would cause him _un_happiness. The other person was more than likely to be one of the 'anti-Beater' SAO players. And which Beater stood out more than the Black Swordsman?

Kirito was probably in a bad position. She didn't have much time left.

'So what happened?' She asked, cutting off Yomi's unintelligible ramblings.

'Hm? Ah, well he got sent to another dimension…'

'WHAT?!' She screamed, before calming down. She should have expected something like this to happen. This was _Kirito_ after all. _Kirito__. _He always got tangled up in the weirdest of situations. Yomi didn't seem very reliable either. Yup, there was nothing to be surprised about at all. 'And where's that?'

'I don't know!' Yomi declared, puffing up his chest.

_Why does he look so proud? _Asuna wondered resignedly.'How can you not know? Aren't you the one who sent him there?'

'Yes, I was, but Asuna-san, you are mistaken. I am a mere messenger, a servant if you have to put it crudely. Those… people up top are the ones who pass on the orders, which I carry out to the best of my capabilities. And since they are the ones who issued the order to send your friend to another dimension, they would be the only ones who know where that dimension is. An official enquiry will have to be submitted and pass through the many layers of the Underworld government before the location will even be considered to be revealed to any unauthorised personnel. Hadn't been like that a few decades ago, but it's for security purposes.' For a second, he looked a little uncomfortable. 'I do have access to wherever that person may be, but probably not enough for me to name the place just by seeing the surroundin–'

'So would I be able to see him?' A soft voice interrupted.

'…Huh?'

'Can I see him?' She repeated, a little a louder, pleadingly. 'Just a few seconds is fine… You can, right?'

Yomi was about to say no when he saw the look in her eyes. His mouth immediately snapped shut. It was a while before he opened them again. 'Uh… It wouldn't hurt if it was just for a bit… would it?' He muttered uncertainly, berating himself for becoming too soft.

'Thank you.' She smiled.

The man sighed. _Now, what was the other thing again...?_

* * *

'Gahahaha! What do we have here…?' Captain Chuggs lips curled up in a sinister smile. After all, the brat who had caused a lot of unnecessary disturbance on Sabaody was before him. If an Admiral was informed about the 'attack', they were in big trouble. What was worse was that they were trapped on the island until their ship was coated. There were a few scattered snorts here and there, coming from the lower-ranking of the crew.

'Chihihihi! Our hostage.' Driarch chuckled, releasing the boy and casually kicking his legs from under him. 'I was able to get him 'cause the Marines wanted him alive.'

'Not what it looks like.' A voice muttered. Dri looked up to see a tattooed body in the shadows.

'Stevieeeee! You're still alive?'

The man chose to ignore the remark, his hand absently rubbing the cut on his neck. 'Where's Clarqe? He went in the same way as you, didn't he?'

Dri shrugged, unabashed. 'I dunno, I was being chased.'

'I sent him to go out and report back about the situation outside.' Red Coat said, still eyeing the boy at his feet.

'Oh…' Steve shifted in his seated position, gaze flickering over to the battered body. 'Is that…?'

'Yeah. That brat who messed with the Celestial Dragon.' Chuggs growled darkly, driving a toe into the boy's side. 'Fucking brat.'

'Chihihihi, what do we do now?'

'We'll first have to wait for Clarque to get back.' The pirate captain said, rubbing his temple. 'Steve, go watch our _Phantom_(1). If you deem it safe, somehow get it coated as quickly as possible. I don't care what method you use. We can't afford to waste any more time. We can use the boy to escape later.'

* * *

The Blood Pirates' temporary hideout was located in an abandoned and surprisingly large souvenir shop on Grove 41. Unfortunately, that meant the shortest route to their ship, docked on Grove 29, was through the amusement park, which was hardly an option considering the number of Marines that were swarming the area. They'd had a hard enough time getting out, and even though they'd even steered away from their ship to avoid the pursuit, two of the crew had still been killed. There was also a chance that the coating mechanic, despite having two pirates stationed with him, had escaped during the chaos. Without a coated ship, and with the Log Pose pointing defiantly towards Fishman Island, they had no hope of escape.

Steve cautiously slid out of the back door. The men left with the ship were the more trustworthy ones. He just hoped that they would be smart enough to keep an eye on the mechanic.

Outside, he could hear the Archipelago's disorder. The news of an assault on a World Noble had spread like wildfire, no doubt more far-fetched with every retelling, so the pirates and other criminals were already fleeing Sabaody. Citizens had either shut themselves into their homes or were standing at the side, gossiping fiercely. Offending a Tenryubito got high-ranked Marines involved. Nobody wanted to be there, but everyone wanted to know what was happening.

The reason Steve was sent instead of Driarch was because his appearance, excluding his tattoos and choice of clothing, was the most normal, so he would probably blend in more easily. It also helped that the photo on his bounty only showed a shadowed side-view of his face, focussing mainly on the inked designs on his body, so not many people would recognise him if his torso was covered. Usually it would be Clarque who got these jobs, but he wasn't here at the moment.

Steve had grabbed an old shirt and cloak when he'd come out, and quickly put them on now. He ignored the hood. He needed to remain as inconspicuous as possible, and a hooded stranger could draw some problems from the more nosy part of Sabaody's population. He heard loud shouts coming from his left, over in Grove 40, accompanied by the sound of gunfire, and headed in that direction. If he was lucky, by the time he got there, there would a few dead bodies he could pluck some navy uniform from.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Steve was in a toilet cubicle securing a white Marine cap over his head. Whoever had won the fight had also taken the issued guns, but just the uniform would have to do. He had his own pistol for emergencies.

After checking his reflection in the mirror, he started to run towards Grove 29, where _Phantom_ was docked. He was able to avoid most of the trouble since everyone either seemed too afraid or excited to notice him. When he was nearing his destination, he pretended to purposefully chase after a group of pirates, slowing down as he reached Grove 20. From then on, he had to be careful.

At first, navigating his way to his ship was quite easy, since pirates were reluctant to engage in a fight unless absolutely necessary, but it soon became apparent that the criminals were not his only problem; he had a few encounters with Marines. He'd been lucky in that the meetings had always been interrupted, but he knew he wouldn't be so fortunate every time. He was not familiar with the way Sabaody ran, and certainly would not be able to answer questions like: 'Which squad are you in?'

But a lone marine snooping around was more suspicious than a marine who was not, so he still tried to act as normal as possible, only diving out of view when pirates approached. He soon found that it was actually easier to travel by jumping from bubble to bubble. When he got high enough, he didn't have to zigzag across the mangroves just to get to the bridges that connected the 'islands', and instead could take a much straighter route.

* * *

Captain 'Red Coat' Chuggs was a careful man – an unusual trait in a pirate captain; he was still rough, powerful and sometimes even slightly reckless, but he was always careful. He made sure that every choice he made was the most beneficial.

So, it was understandable, that when he collapsed in the centre of his slaughtered crew, his dull eyes staring up at cold ones, he couldn't understand what had happened. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. For a moment, it was as if someone had muted the volume of his world. Then, the sound resumed, stinging his ears.

'Goodbye, my captain.'

There was a sharp pain, as if someone had reached into his body, grabbed his heart and squeezed it. He felt frightened and vulnerable. He didn't know when it was that he'd stilled, all sensation disappearing, but when he did, he was no longer there to feel it.

The captain of the Blood Pirates was dead.

* * *

**AN: I realise that nothing really happened. I promise the next chapter with have more action!**

**The options are:**

**2. Asuna is dead and Kirito never falls in love again, though his 'wounds' eventually heal. (Currently the most popular)**

**3b. Asuna is dead and gets reincarnated as Asuna (She can either remember him or not remember.)**

**And does anyone know what that round thing on Den den mushi's are called? The part that Marines talk into? Mouthpiece?**

**Well then, that's all so REVIEW PLEASE!**

1)The Blood Pirates' ship name.


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